Web-based Discussion Forums on Pregnancy Complaints and Maternal Health Literacy in Norway: A Qualitative Study

Background: The Internet is one of the fastest growing information sources for pregnant women and seems to be used across social and economic strata. However, we still lack knowledge on how interaction in Web-based discussion forums influence maternal health literacy, in terms of how pregnant women access, appraise, and apply information to promote and maintain good health. Objective: The aim of this study was to understand how Web-based discussion forums influence maternal health literacy; hence, we explored the role of interactions in Web-based discussion forums among women who experienced health problems during pregnancy. More specifically, we explored why media-literate women experiencing the medically unexplained condition, pelvic girdle pain (PGP), during pregnancy participated in Web-based discussion forums and how they appraised and applied the information and advice that they gained from the Web-based interaction with other women. Methods: Women were invited to participate in the study via postings on 3 different open websites for pregnant women and mothers. The sample included 11 Norwegian women who participated in open Web-based discussion forums when experiencing PGP in pregnancy. The data were collected using synchronous qualitative email interviews and were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results:In our study sample, interaction in Web-based discussion forums influenced maternal health literacy in terms of increased health-related knowledge and competencies, increased awareness of health promotion and health protection, and increased system navigation. The women appraised and selectively applied information and advice that resonated with their own experiences. For many, the information provided online by other women in the same situation was valued more highly than advice from health professionals. Women reported that they used their knowledge and competency in encounters with health professionals but hesitated to disclose the origin of their knowledge. Those with a high level of education in medicine-related fields raised a concern about the Internet as a source of horror stories and erroneous information and were actively engaged in trying to minimize potential negative effects, by providing biomedical information. Conclusions: The popularity of Web-based discussion forums among pregnant women suggests that this group needs additional sources of information and support to complement traditional consultations with the health professionals. The professionals need to recognize that pregnant women access Web-based discussion forums for support and information to increase their ability to take better health decisions for themselves. This is a potential resource that health professionals may find useful in consultations with pregnant women

Tuftsin Promotes an Anti-Inflammatory Switch and Attenuates Symptoms in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating autoimmune disease mediated by infiltration of T cells into the central nervous system after compromise of the blood-brain barrier. We have previously shown that administration of tuftsin, a macrophage/microglial activator, dramatically improves the clinical course of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a well-established animal model for MS. Tuftsin administration correlates with upregulation of the immunosuppressive Helper-2 Tcell (Th2) cytokine transcription factor GATA-3. We now show that tuftsin-mediated microglial activation results in shifting microglia to an anti-inflammatory phenotype. Moreover, the T cell phenotype is shifted towards immunoprotection after exposure to tuftsin-treated activated microglia; specifically, downregulation of pro-inflammatory Th1 responses is triggered in conjunction with upregulation of Th2-specific responses and expansion of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells (Tregs). Finally, tuftsin-shifted T cells, delivered into animals via adoptive transfer, reverse the pathology observed in mice with established EAE. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that tuftsin decreases the proinflammatory environment of EAE and may represent a therapeutic opportunity for treatment of MS

The Tumor Suppressor Gene, RASSF1A, Is Essential for Protection against Inflammation -Induced Injury

10.1371/journal.pone.0075483PLoS ONE810-POLN

A gestural repertoire of 1-2year old human children : in search of the ape gestures

This project was made possible with the generous financial help of the Baverstock Bequest to the Psychology and Neuroscience Department at the University of St Andrews.When we compare human gestures to those of other apes, it looks at first like there is nothing much to compare at all. In adult humans, gestures are thought to be a window into the thought processes accompanying language, and sign languages are equal to spoken language with all of its features. While some research firmly emphasises the difference between human gestures and those of other apes, the question about whether there are any commonalities has rarely been investigated, and is mostly confined to pointing gestures. The gestural repertoires of nonhuman ape species have been carefully studied and described with regard to their form and function – but similar approaches are much rarer in the study of human gestures. This paper applies the methodology commonly used in the study of nonhuman ape gestures to the gestural communication of human children in their second year of life. We recorded (n=13) children’s gestures in a natural setting with peers and caregivers in Germany and Uganda. Children employed 52 distinct gestures, 46 (89%) of which are present in the chimpanzee repertoire. Like chimpanzees, they used them both singly, and in sequences; and employed individual gestures flexibly towards different goals.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe